Chess tourney in memory of Brenton Smith deemed a success

A total of 15 schools from across New Providence were represented by almost 40 students at the Brenton Hector Smith Scholastic Invitational Chess Tournament which was held over the Valentine’s Day weekend. The tournament was deemed a huge success by organizers and boasted a strong field of players ranging from ages seven to 19.

In addition to participants from public and private schools, the Centre for the Deaf, the Bain and Grants Town Chess Club, Nimble Minds and the Bahamas Chess Institute were all represented at the tournament.

The competition was said to be fierce, with many players tied going into the final round of play. In the end, the top three students from each of the seven age categories received trophies and earned a chance to represent The Bahamas at the CARIFTA Chess Championships in Willemstad, Curacao, in April. Among the award winners were three siblings, the Pinders – an impressive feat for the family.

“We saw great improvement in our players as the tournament progressed and we are proud of the skills of all our youth, whether they won trophies or not,” said Bahamas Chess Federation (BCF) President Elton Joseph.

Finishing first overall was Candidate Master (CM) Nathan Smith, who continues to develop as an impressive player. Finishing second and third were Curtis Pride and Aidan Mart respectively, both with four points. Trinity Pinder, Marfeeyou Joseph, Dream Pinder and Davonye Edmond all had great individual performances with four points each, but lost out on tiebreaks. The youngest player of the tournament was Kaedan Hackett, age seven. He won the under-8 category.

Kendrick Ferguson finished first in the under-10 category, followed by Jayden Smith and Max White.

Deon Pinder was first in the under-12 category followed by Daniel Ramtulla and Avian Pride. In the under-14 category, CM Nathan Smith won followed by Davonye Edmond and Dream Pinder; and finally, in the under-16 category, Curtis Pride was the winner and he was followed by Adian Mart and Trinity Pinder.

“It just goes to show that when given the opportunity, many young people welcome the chance to compete and challenge each other in positive ways, and learning and mastering chess is a great way to encourage our youth to focus, think strategically, and solve problems,” said Hector Smith, father of the late Brenton Hector Smith – a young chess player who was accidentally killed by police while walking through a local neighborhood with a friend in 2009. “This also builds confidence and teaches kids good sportsmanship. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Bahamas Chess Federation with this event and thank Marcos Pizza, Caribbean Bottling Company and Bahama Clear for their generous donations.”

The Brenton Hector Smith Scholastic Invitational Chess Tournament was hosted by the BCF and jointly sponsored by the MedNet Group of Companies and the family of Brenton Hector Smith. The Smiths are driven to remembering Brenton in positive ways. Supporting an event like an invitational chess tournament was a natural fit for the family as Brenton learned the game at an early age and was an avid player.

“We would like to thank the Centre for the Deaf for attending our event. Chess around the world has always been very inclusive, accommodating and beneficial for all players and we are happy to support all players anyway we can. We would also like to thank the Brenton story and the Mednet Group of Companies for supporting the event,” said BCF President Joseph.

To learn more about Brenton Smith’s story, interested persons are asked to please visit The Brenton Story on Facebook.